Anointing of the Holy Spirit

When did the Holy Spirit decide to anoint leaders in the Old Testament? How was this done and for what purpose? These are questions that John MacArthur addresses in this excerpt from the MacArthur Bible Commentary.

First, Moses is anointed.

Old Testament Israel had mediators who stood between God and His people. To empower the OT mediators, the Holy Spirit gave special administrative ability to carry out the management of the nation and military skills which enabled them to defeat the theocracy’s enemies. The Lord first anointed Moses with this ministry of the Spirit and then, in a truly dramatic scene, took some of this ministry of the Spirit and shared it with the seventy elders. Thus they were enabled to help Moses administer Israel.

Second, Joshua is anointed.

Also, Joshua, the judges, and the kings of united Israel and the southern kingdom were anointed with this special ministry of the Spirit. When the Spirit of the Lord came upon King Saul, for example, he was in effect given “another heart.” This does not mean that he was regenerated at this point in his life, but that he was given skills to be a king. Later, the theocratic anointing was taken from Saul and given to David. Saul, from that time on, became a totally incapable leader.

Third, David is anointed.

King David, no doubt, had this special ministry of the Spirit in mind with his prayer of repentance in Psalm 51. He was not afraid of losing his salvation when he prayed, “do not take your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11), but rather was concerned that God would remove this spiritual wisdom and administrative skill from him. David had earlier seen such a tragedy in the life of Saul when that king of Israel lost the anointing of the Holy Spirit. David was, thus, pleading with God not to remove His hand of guidance.

Fourth, Solomon is anointed.

King Solomon also perceived his youthful inabilities at the beginning of his reign and requested God to give him special wisdom in administering Israel. God was pleased with this request and granted an extra measure of wisdom to the young man. Although the OT is silent in this regard about the kings who succeeded Solomon, the theocratic anointing of the Spirit likely came on all of the descendants of David in connection with the Davidic covenant.

The end of theocratic anointing.

When the theocracy went out of existence as Judah was carried away into captivity, and the last Davidic king was disempowered, the theocratic anointingwas no longer given. The kings of the northern tribes, on the other hand, being essentially apostate and not in the Davidic line, never had the benefit of this special ministry of the Spirit.